JK Students Design their own Games

Students in Mrs. Markunas’ Junior Kindergarten class showed a profound interest in games. They investigated many types of games from sports to board games to collaborative games and then designed and shared their own games!

Their research began with basketball, spurred by the classmates' enjoyment of playing with basketballs during recess. Additionally, teachers introduced new games such as Suspend, a balancing toy, and Obwisana, a circle game that encourages singing and keeping a rhythmic beat. Parents and guardians were also invited to share games from their childhood.

One day during morning meeting Ollie mentioned that his dad played rugby. Most of the  students had never heard about this sport. The class watched a short video of a rugby game. The children were really intrigued by the amount of players, their formation on the field and the tackling. That day during center time, a few children made their way to the block area and created their own rugby stadium. Cael presented the idea and others helped to decide the layout. Ollie asked for green paper and soon they were busy taping “grass” to the floor. The buzz of the block area slowly got most of the class involved. They collaborated on building bleachers, a popcorn store, and signs and tickets for the game. 

Thank you to Ollie’s dad who visited the classroom and shared more about rugby. The children worked on passing the ball to one another with a sideways throw, kicking and receiving the ball, and some running drills. They learned how to safely tag a friend with a two hand touch on the hips instead of tackling them. He left a rugby ball behind that the students had a blast playing with on the playground. 

Next the class chatted online with two game creators named Fred and Alex. The children came up with a list of questions for their interview, and it was an amazing experience to talk with experts. They learned about how ideas become games and some detail about the process. One tidbit of information that stayed with the kids is that the process is long. Alex informed them that there is a game he has been working on since the young Chargers were born, and it is still not completed. Inspired, the class received advice on creating their own board games, focusing on objectives, rules, and experimentation. The guests showed the students a game called The Fuzzies, which is similar to Jenga. The teachers ordered the game for students to play. Alex developed the game app WaveLength which looks very fun for adults. A big thanks to JK Teacher Dr. Q. who connected the class with Alex and Fred.  

As a final task of their learning, students each created plans for their own board game. The class gave them constructive feedback and then together they made a class board game with a blend of their favorite ideas. They also made a memory game.

Culminating their journey, Mrs. Markunas’ Junior Kindergarten class hosted a family celebration on May 3 to showcase their newfound knowledge and creations. Students eagerly presented games they had designed. The JK students will continue to edit their games and will bring them home at the end of the school year.

Celebration Photos

Flickr album: JK Shares Their Games | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin

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